With the final series well underway in two football codes, a battle for our Davis Cup team, the anticipation of the A-League season and the Rugby World Cup, I found myself over the weekend overcome with Aussie pride.
Along with that, I experienced some strong feelings of love for the underdog – another strong Aussie tradition.
It started with the Cronulla Sharks in the NRL. While I didn’t write them off completely, I felt they would need their best game to beat the Cowboys. While I didn’t see their best, captain Paul Gallen, as always, did his best to overcome injury to try and steer his team to victory. Underdog one defeated.
While watching the NRL, I was channel hopping to the AFL and the Sydney Swans versus North Melbourne. I am a bit of a Swans fan, but there was something about North Melbourne and their bid to reach the preliminary final after finishing eighth on the ladder.
This game left me torn. I was devastated for the Swans, but somewhat excited to see what the Kangaroos will do this weekend against the Eagles. Underdog two successful, but with mixed emotions.
It was a very late Saturday and Sunday night while watching the Davis Cup. I wasn’t sure if the Aussies were the underdog, but when you have world number 3 Andy Murray and number 1 doubles player (and Andy’s brother) Jamie Murray, the Aussies were in for a tough fight.
Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth fought hard in the doubles, but it was the Brits that took the game, leaving Tomic to face Andy Murray in the singles. While flashes of brilliance were there, it wasn’t enough. The Brits take the Davis Cup semi final. Underdog three defeated, with a touch of sympathy for Hewitt as retirement looms.
While my weekend of sporting emotions was mixed, it was all about to change. The ultimate underdog was about to reign – and boy was it exciting!
The Rugby World Cup and South Africa versus Japan. Let’s put this into perspective. The Sprinboks are two-time World Cup champions, ranked number three in the world.
The Cherry Blossoms have not won a World Cup match in 24 years with their biggest defeat coming in the 1995 World Cup against New Zealand 145-17.
The Boks looked safe, and I was ready to admit that Japan had put up the good fight, that this was over. Then a rugby miracle. Four minutes into injury time, Karne Hesketh dives into the corner for a try. It was beautiful, players embraced, fans were in tears, and social media lit up like a Christmas tree.
Perhaps it is a feeling of wanting a close, good, competitive game to watch, or the hope players will leave nothing in the tank as they strive for sporting greatness, but the support of the underdog is in all of us, and it’s something that leaves us wanting more.
That said, Japan’s next game is in two days time against Scotland.
Underdog four was the winner, with this writer hooked as a permanent Cherry Blossoms fan.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
Support for the underdog is a worldwide phenomenon, and there is nothing distinctly Australian about it.
Gurudoright
Guest
I really hope Japan beat Scotland and eventually qualify for the knockout stage. The sooner the IRB/WR realise the more competitive national teams there are, the better the excitement and the better the tournament is. For example everyone has been talking about pool A - The pool of death with Australia, England, Wales and to a lesser extent Fiji. Every game between them is important to who qualifies for the knockout stage which makes the games intense. Now look at Japan's pool now, in theory now you have a four way battle for the 2 knockout phrase. South Africa will come back, everyone has seen what Samoa can do on their day, no one can write off Scotland in this pool and Japan must be liking their chances with their recent form over Samoa and the USA. If the IRB/WR want to grow the game, and essentially produce a better product they must ensure that the underdogs are good enough or improving so the chances of more competitive matches and upsets are possible.